Podcast: Conversations With Laura, Featuring Author Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater's bestselling young adult novel Shiver generated more buzz than a hive of bumble bees. Here's the description:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf-her wolf-is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human-or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Laura had the opportunity to visit with this talented young author for an exclusive audio chat, in which Maggie offers some truly fascinating insight.

 

Conversations With Laura, Featuring Author Maggie Stiefvater - Right Click and Select "Save As" to Download

or listen online:

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Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children's book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

Writing Christian Fiction for Today?s Market

Agent Chip MacGregor had a recent guest post on the Guide to Literary Agents blog that nicely sums up the new breed of Christian/Inspirational fiction. And though he's writing about the adult market, I think his words apply to the children's/YA market as well. I was especially taken with the following points: "...more Christian publishers are releasing generally redemptive novels with more subtle faith messages in place of the overt expository approach....The conversation has largely shifted from one of 'message' to one of 'craft.' "

Writers for children, many of whom can hardly restrain themselves from planting all kinds of messages in their books, need to take these comments to heart. The new Christian fiction for kids is "fiction" first, "Christian" second. It's mysteries, contemporary school stories, fantasy series, sci-fi novels. The characters struggle with all kinds of dilemmas, which may include crises of faith. They learn and grow and use whatever tools they have to solve their problems, which may include prayer, or seeking advice from religious leaders, or befriending peers with strong religious beliefs. The point of the books, however, is broader than imparting a particular religious dogma to readers.

Of course, trade publishers are apt to want more subtle and non-denominational messages than religious publishers. And Christian nonfiction for kids is a different discussion entirely. But if you want to write Christian fiction for children or teens, study some of the books on these lists to see just how important it is to layer the message under a good story.

Inspirational and Religious Fiction for Children

Christian Fiction for Children

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Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children's book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

Lingering Thoughts on Banned Books Week

Almost two months after banned books week, I was sorting out links and bits of articles I'd collected and came across two I have to share. This is not going to be a post on censorship, or how one parent doesn't have the right to dictate to all parents what literature should be available to their children, or on the right for a parent or child to decide whether or not they want to read a particular book (though I believe all those things). These two tidbits are about the people the books touch, for better or worse.

The first is an article about how Penguin Young Readers Group took out a full page ad in the New York Times defending Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a young adult novel about a rape victim that had been called "soft pornography" in an op-ed piece in the Missouri News-Leader. What most touched me was a comment by a reader at the end of the article:

The irony that this man chose to try and censor a book in which the main character responds to her rape and the way her high school peers treat her afterwards by not speaking was evidently lost on him. He tried to silence the silent and, I hope, much to his surprise, the roar was heard around the world. Silence is the enemy of the abused. Silence is what allows abusers and abusive situations to flourish. I know this to be absolutely true because, as a child, I was abused by my father. I tried to tell and was either told that I was a liar, that I was making things up or in one memorable case, that I must have deserved what I got. So I gave up trying. That was before I found books like SPEAK and CHINESE HANDCUFFS and authors like Laurie Halse Anderson, Chris Crutcher and every other writer who has had their works threatened or banned. Silence is not the answer and that is the message I want my granddaughter and every abused and traumatized person to know.

Silence isn't the answer, unless you have no idea what you're talking about. In Banned Books Week: 10 Banned Books You Might Not Expect, the Texas Board of Education banned the beloved classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr. in January of this year because it (mistakenly) thought the book was written by the same Bill Martin who penned the nonchildren's book Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation.

Enough said.

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Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children's book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

Free Kindle Download of Writing Fiction for Dummies

From November 15-19, 2010, Amazon is offering a free download of the Kindle edition of Writing Fiction for Dummies. And if you don't have the Kindle e-book reader, you can download a free app to read the book on your Mac or PC here.

This offer is only good for Amazon customers in the United States.

Of course they're doing this to offer you other products (such as Dummies' author Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Pro novel-writing software). I've not read Writing Fiction for Dummies (though I was Technical Editor on Writing Children's Books for Dummies), but a deal's a deal, and you never know when that one piece of advice will put your writing over the top.

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Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children's book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

A success lesson for creative folks. Very inspiring stuff! *http://amplify.com/u/f0xo

Picture Books: Why They Must be Saved...and How to Do It

By now many of you have seen the New York Times' article from last month: Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children. It's caused quite a stir in the book writing community, in particular (not surprisingly) among picture book writers and illustrators. Newbery Honor-winning illustrator Marla Frazee spoke at Pittsburgh's Fall Festival of Children's Books and said, “The reporter should have talked to teachers and librarians who are in the trenches with kids. They understand that picture books are crucial rungs on the ladder to literacy.”

She's right about picture books being crucial to building literacy skills, but I don't think the reporter was disputing that. In fact, the article quotes several booksellers and publishers who underscore the role picture books play in learning to read and comprehend stories. To me, the article highlighted three reasons picture book sales are down:

The economy. Picture books are expensive to produce, and expensive to buy.

The booming young adult market. Publishers and booksellers go where the money is: YA. That's just a fact of the business when you have finite dollars and shelf space.

Parents. To me, this is the most alarming reason. Parents are pushing their children to read at an earlier age, moving kids as young as four years old from picture books to chapter books.

Easy readers are great. Chapter books are wonderful. But is it necessary to rob young children of the pleasure of being read a picture book (not to mention the joy of gazing at extraordinary illustrations while hearing a compelling story) before they're ready to move on? Picture book plots are far more complex than easy readers, and their vocabulary and sentence structure is close to that of chapter books. Kids are learning from these books, and not getting stressed out in the process.

It seems to me that authors, illustrators and booksellers need to band together and work to educate well-meaning parents on the literary value of picture books. If you're doing a book signing, mention how kids can learn to follow a plot and expand their vocabulary when they're hearing your story read out loud. When you're speaking at schools, ask teachers to use your book as part of their literacy curriculum. Blog about it, put this information on your web sites. Create a grassroots, pro-picture book publicity campaign. Parents want to love picture books, and if you give them reasons to keep buying them even after their kids start reading on their own, they'll do it. For the authors, illustrators and booksellers, it's essential that you start talking up these reasons now.

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Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children's book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

Prepare for Author Presentations with this Handy Checklist

Like many people, writers are searching for ways to supplement their incomes. Some have turned to giving workshops and speaking to libraries, school classes, and other groups to earn extra money. An added plus is that speaking to such groups is a great way to promote your book. Consider having a friend or family member critique your presentation. You may even ask someone to tape you. Listen to the feedback and made any needed corrections. After all, you want to be invited back. Physical appearance

• Are your clothes appropriate for the setting? You will probably not be dressed “to the nines” for an informal chat at an elementary school or the local library. You want to look approachable and friendly.

• Could you dress in some kind of costume that relates to your book? Is your chapter book about a young girl’s journey west on a wagon train? Could you dress in pioneer garb? Have you written a “tween” novel about a Civil War era girl who befriends a slave? Could you fashion some kind of Civil War costume? (If you aren’t handy with a sewing machine, try visiting a thrift shop. I find thrift shops a great place to look for costumes or special clothing.)

Props

• Do you have props or visual aids? Children respond to things they can see and touch. A poster of your book (provided by your publisher) is always good, but can you incorporate something else? What about having something to hand out, such as bookmarks or some other token that is a reminder of your book? (There are companies who specialize in making giveaways for authors.) Younger children love to have something to take with them.

• If your book features an animal, can you make arrangements to bring one to your presentation? Use your imagination to come up with intriguing ideas.

Special considerations for speaking to a school class

• How many children are expected? You will want to know this before you show up so you can have the necessary number of bookmarks or other tokens to give out.

• What is the age of the children to whom you’ll be speaking?

• Will a microphone be available?

• How much time will you have?

• Will you be sharing the time with other speakers?

• Can you make a power point presentation on how you created your book? Children love “how-to” presentations.

• Can you find a way to involve the children in your presentation? Could you have them act out a scene from your book? Or could you read a passage from your book?

• Have you left time at the end of your talk for questions? Chances are you will be peppered with questions from your young listeners.

Miscellaneous

• Do you give your note cards an occasional glance rather than reading them?

• Have you given in to nervous gestures, such as fingering your hair, stuffing your hands in pockets, or scratching your nose? These are common behaviors, ones that you may well not be aware of.

• Do you maintain eye contact with the children?

• Do you occasionally sweep the room with a glance?

• Are you smiling?

• Are you clearly enthusiastic about the subject? Children sense when a speaker is enthusiastic about her subject.

• Do you project your voice?

• Do you vary your pitch and tone? A monotonous tone will likely lull your listeners to sleep or, at the very least, bore them.

Speaking before a group isn’t for everyone. However, even the most reclusive writer can learn a few simple techniques to improve her presentation skills and become a sought-after speaker. Jane McBride Choate is a Contributing Editor to Children's Book Insider, and an author. Her newest books include Bride Price and Eden's Garden from Avalon Romance.

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Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children's book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

"Write a Marketable Children's Book in 7 Weeks"....Our Exclusive Interview With the Authors

 

As you might imagine, we get many press releases and review copies of "how to" books for children's writers.  Most are "just OK", but once in a rare while we see a real winner and decide to add it to our product line.  And this is most certainly one of them.

Write a Marketable Children's Book in 7 Weeks does exactly what the title promises: it breaks down the daunting task of crafting a children's book into seven thoughtfully designed chunks.  It's so wonderfully simple and well-planned our first reaction was "Why didn't we think of this?"  :)

The link to get this essential book is: http://www.mybookorders.com/order/default.aspx?SiteID=518

But first, check out our exclusive interview with the book's authors, Shirley Raye Redmond and Jennifer McKerley. Shirley and Jennifer have used this approach themselves to write over 30 published books, and say it works for all manuscripts from picture books through middle grade, fiction and nonfiction.

Your book takes a very straightforward, step-by-step approach to writing  fiction. Does this leave room for inspiration and creativity?

Shirley Raye: I think the creativity and inspiration are already there before someone would even be interested in or have need of our workbook. We’re just helping the writer with the production and packaging of her creative idea so that it can be brought to complete fruition and appeal to an editor.

Jennifer: Jane Yolen, the famous author, said, “To write 30 books or 300 books or 3 books? BIC. Butt in chair. Every day.” Creativity and inspiration play a big part in writing, but not as big a part as just doing it. We want those who dream of writing to bite the bullet and get a complete manuscript finished. We know it is an empowering feeling, and if they keep writing, they’ll learn that the writing habit itself triggers inspiration and creativity.

Just posted! [Children's Writing Update] The Best Way to Find a Literary Agent #writing #kidlit *http://amplify.com/u/ein1

Get Published By Creating Magic

Every writer who sticks with a manuscript beyond that initial flash of inspiration knows it: writing is hard. To be more accurate, writing well is hard. Anyone can throw words on a page. But to make those words into something that burrows into the heart of a reader you'll never meet- that takes considerable effort.

This is the point that separates the writers from the wannabes. Here is where you'll learn if writing is something you're meant to do, or if you just thought it would be cool to see your name on a book. There's nothing wrong with the latter; we've all jumped into activities we thought would satisfy some creative need, only to find we were way off base. I have half-finished knitting projects and lopsided ceramics gathering dust in closets as evidence of my own tinkerings. However, if you genuinely believe in your heart you're a writer but feel like you're wading through quicksand, then you may be missing a vital ingredient in the creative process...

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE

The Insider?s Method of Finding a Literary Agent

Agents are some of publishing's true heroes. They're also among the hardest-working folks we know. In their honor, we've prepared a video that will help make their lives easier — and your career more successful.

We've got a little-known technique for finding literary agents who are accepting new clients, along with tips about how to research agents before you contact them – so you don't waste their time with inappropriate submissions. We've also got some steps toward developing a respectful, professional relationship that can lead to representation.

The bottom line? Do your homework, get to know agents' likes, dislikes and needs. Show that you value them as professionals and people. Build relationships and demonstrate respect for their time and their knowledge.

It's how the top authors do it, and, after watching this video, how you can do it to.

Click Here to Watch the Video